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Proton exchange membrane-like alkaline water electrolysis using flow-engineered three-dimensional electrodes

Authors :
Fernando Rocha
Christos Georgiadis
Kevin Van Droogenbroek
Renaud Delmelle
Xavier Pinon
Grzegorz Pyka
Greet Kerckhofs
Franz Egert
Fatemeh Razmjooei
Syed-Asif Ansar
Shigenori Mitsushima
Joris Proost
Source :
Nature Communications, Vol 15, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
Nature Portfolio, 2024.

Abstract

Abstract For high rate water electrolysers, minimising Ohmic losses through efficient gas bubble evacuation away from the active electrode is as important as minimising activation losses by improving the electrode’s electrocatalytic properties. In this work, by a combined experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach, we identify the topological parameters of flow-engineered 3-D electrodes that direct their performance towards enhanced bubble evacuation. In particular, we show that integrating Ni-based foam electrodes into a laterally-graded bi-layer zero-gap cell configuration allows for alkaline water electrolysis to become Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM)-like, even when keeping a state-of-the-art Zirfon diaphragm. Detailed CFD simulations, explicitly taking into account the entire 3-D electrode and cell topology, show that under a forced uniform upstream electrolyte flow, such a graded structure induces a high lateral velocity component in the direction normal to and away from the diaphragm. This work is therefore an invitation to start considering PEM-like cell designs for alkaline water electrolysis as well, in particular the use of square or rectangular electrodes in flow-through type electrochemical cells.

Subjects

Subjects :
Science

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20411723
Volume :
15
Issue :
1
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Nature Communications
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.84cd46b324544e228daa840771579cfa
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51704-z